


Find That Star

by missbecky



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Angst, M/M, Starkquill - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 09:12:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2062389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/pseuds/missbecky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the outlook for Tony on Earth grows darker, he sends Peter a farewell message urging him to move on. Peter, however, has a very different idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Find That Star

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr, since revised and edited.
> 
> This is set during the brief time when Captain Marvel joined the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Carol is making her way through the ship one night, headed toward her own quarters, when she hears the unmistakable sound of Tony Stark's voice. Her heart leaps in her chest and she starts walking faster, even while she's trying to puzzle out exactly when and how Tony arrived on board.

But it's not actually Tony. She comes closer to the door that leads into Peter's room, and she suddenly realizes what she's hearing. And she doesn't mean to linger and eavesdrop, but the door is half-open and she's so eager for news about home that without really meaning to, she just ends up standing there in the hall, listening to what is clearly intended to be a private message.

"…things are starting to happen pretty fast now, and I'm not sure if there will be time later for this. So I wanted to say it now, while I still can."

That doesn't sound good at all. Carol takes another step forward, and now she's actually standing in the doorway. She looks in and she sees the recording, an image of Tony in his armory, shadowy armored figures in the background. Even from a distance, on a recording, she can see how exhausted he looks.

Peter is staring intently at the holographic image in front of him. His arms are folded across his chest, like he has to physically prevent himself from reaching out and trying to touch.

"I wanted to say thank you," the image of Tony says. "The time I spent with you and the Guardians was one of the greatest adventures I ever had. You made me feel like I was one of you, and that means… Well, it means a lot." He smiles sadly. "More than you can ever know."

"Oh, you idiot," Peter sighs, and now he does reach out. His hand falls short though, and he lets it drop back to his side.

"Take care of yourself," Tony says. "If we do this right, the world will still be here when you get back, even if I'm not. And I can't vouch for the condition you'll find it in. It'll be worth it, though, just knowing that you have a home to come back to." He smiles again, and this time it's more genuine.

Carol's breath catches, because she knows that smile, damnit, even if Peter doesn't. She knows _exactly_ what it means.

"Good-bye, Peter Quill," Tony says. "Go find that star." And that must be something personal between them, something only Peter would understand, because Peter makes a pained noise, like someone just punched him.

The recording lasts for another second, then it disappears. The image of Tony is gone.

Nothing happens for a long moment. Then Peter looks up and Carol realizes that he knew she was there the whole time. His eyes are blazing. "Tell Rocket to turn the ship around," he says. "We're going to Earth."

Carol nods grimly. "Damn right we are."

****

A long time ago – or so it feels now – Peter lay together with Tony on the observation deck, just gazing up at the stars. (That wasn't the official name for that narrow area near the top of the ship where you could see open space on three sides, but Tony had called it that as a joke on his first day on board, and the name had just sort of stuck.)

They weren't kissing on that particular day. They weren't even talking, not at first. They were just lying there, with the eerie glow of spacelight playing on their faces. Peter hadn't been thinking about the hardness of the floor beneath him, or the thousand and one things that needed to be done around the ship. None of that stuff mattered when they were together like this, the warmth of Tony's body beside his, the knowledge that he was with someone he cared about - maybe cared a little too much, if he was honest with himself.

Still, eventually he had sighed and said, "You know what I want? Just once, to find a star with a pleasant little planet going round it. Someplace where they've never heard of Spartax or even Earth."

Tony had smiled over at him, his head turned, dark hair curling at the nape of his neck. "Yeah? And what would you do on this pleasant little planet of yours?"

"Settle down," Peter had said promptly. "Give up being-- What?"

Tony had been biting his lip to hold back the laughter. "No, you wouldn't," he had said. "You'd be so bored that within a month you'd be looking for a heist to pull. And I bet on your pleasant little planet they would be shocked and appalled by such things."

He had just shrugged. "I could show them other things to shock and appall them."

Tony had rolled over onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows held close to his chest, where the RT node shone steadily white like a miniature star. "Like what?"

"For instance," Peter had said, "did you know that on certain parts of Astra, it's illegal to do this?" And he had proceeded to demonstrate, which effectively put a halt to their conversation.

Since then he's thought about that day a few times, although they never did talk about it again. Until now, he wasn't even sure that Tony remembered it. 

But now there can be no doubt. The proof is right here in front of him with this damn recording. This image of Tony sent through the vast expanses of space to reach him here and now. Tony in his armory on Earth, in the one place he had once confessed to Peter that he felt the safest. Looking so haggard and worn that if he were actually standing here in person, Peter is certain that he could reach out and push him to the ground with no effort at all.

"Go find that star," Tony's image says, and then he smiles. And Peter can't stand it, because Tony remembered, damnit, he _remembered._

And the worst of it isn't the exhaustion bowing Tony's shoulders, or the sadness in Tony's eyes. It isn't even the way he says, "If we do this right, the world will still be here when you get back, even if I'm not."

It's the time stamp. That horrible string of numbers in the corner displaying the date.

It's been two weeks since Tony recorded this message for him.

Two weeks. He has no idea what is happening on Earth – or if planet Earth still even exists. He doesn't know why Tony chose to send this message now. Maybe a certain set of criteria had to be met first. Or maybe it was always programmed to send itself, and Tony had to override it every day and postpone the actual delivery – except he isn't around to delay it anymore.

 _Go find that star,_ Tony told him, and right now there's only one star Peter wants to see. It's not the yellow one with a sometimes-pleasant blue planet orbiting it, third one back, either. It's the star that is emblazoned on a chestplate of crimson armor, a golden sun lit by the man inside the suit.

 _Just you stop me,_ Peter thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> The incredibly talented nightwalker wrote a sequel to this story, which you can [read here](http://onemuseleft.tumblr.com/post/88433014705)


End file.
